It's a small world!

scientistintraining:

(photo and hat decorations by scientistintraining)

Finished 3 out of 4 of my finals today so I figured it was time to start celebrating and decorate my graduation cap. I love it! I’m going to send a photo to my instructor so he can tell me how ridiculous I am.

I was going for a blood agar with E. coli colonies look, I think I achieved it.

I think you nailed it. :)

psike22:

In bloom.

(via mycology)

micro-scopic:

This negative stained transmission electron micrograph (TEM) depicts a number of filamentous Marburg virions, which had been cultured on Vero cell cultures, and purified on sucrose, rate-zonal gradients. Note the virus’s morphologic appearance with its characteristic “Shepherd’s Crook” shape; Magnified approximately 100,000x. Marburg hemorrhagic fever is a rare, severe type of hemorrhagic fever which affects both humans and non-human primates. Caused by a genetically unique zoonotic (that is, animal-borne) RNA virus of the filovirus family, its recognition led to the creation of this virus family. The four species of Ebola virus are the only other known members of the filovirus family. Marburg virus was first recognized in 1967, when outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever occurred simultaneously in laboratories in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany and in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia).

fuckyeahmolecularbiology:

Staphylococcus aureus (pictured in red), the bacterial cause of MRSA (short for Medication-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

Shameless reblog….

And today’s post about a concept we never understood is proudly sponsored by r/f7u12

skeptv:

Educating the World about Microbes

Vincent Racaniello accepts the Peter Wildy Prize for Microbiology Education, awarded annually by the Society for General Microbiology for an outstanding contribution to microbiology education

No matter what the topic is about, I always find these talks interesting and enlightening.

(Source: youtube.com)

laboratoryequipment:

Susceptibility to Disease May be a Better Option

When battling a deadly parasite epidemic, less resistance can sometimes be better than more, a new study suggests. A freshwater zooplankton species known as Daphnia dentifera endures periodic epidemics of a virulent yeast parasite that can infect more than 60 percent of the Daphnia population. During these epidemics, the Daphnia population evolves quickly, balancing infection resistance and reproduction.

A new study reveals that the number of vertebrate predators in the water and the amount of food available for Daphnia to eat influence the size of the epidemics and how these “water fleas” evolve during epidemics to survive.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Population-Stresses-Affect-Disease-Susceptibility-in-Animals-040212.aspx

(via scinerds)

doctorswithoutborders:

Tuberculosis in 2012 Tuberculosis (TB) is often thought of as a disease of the past, but an ongoing resurgence makes it very much an issue of the present day and age.

New data suggests that the global scope of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is much larger than previously estimated, requiring a concerted international effort to combat this deadlier form of the disease.

MSF is calling on governments, international donors, and drug companies to fight the spread of drug-resistant TB with new financing and new efforts to develop effective and affordable diagnostic tools and drugs. Far shorter and less toxic drug regimens are needed, along with currently non-existent formulations for children, and a point-of-care diagnostics test. Regulatory measures need to be enforced to prevent further spread of the disease due to mismanagement by practitioners.

Infographic by better-things.co.uk

expose-the-light:

Glowing Blue Waves Explained

Sea of Stars

Photograph by Doug Perrine, Alamy

Pinpricks of light on the shore seem to mirror stars above in an undated picture taken on Vaadhoo Island in the Maldives.

The biological light, or bioluminescence, in the waves is the product of tiny marine life-forms called phytoplankton—and now scientists think they know how some of these sea beasts create their brilliant blue glow.

Various species of phytoplankton are known to bioluminesce, and their lights can be seen in oceans all around the world, said marine biologist and bioluminescence expert Woodland Hastings of Harvard University. (Also see “Glowing Sea Beasts: Photos Shed Light on Bioluminescence.”)

“I’ve been across the Atlantic and Pacific, and I’ve never seen a spot that wasn’t bioluminescent or a night that [bioluminescence] couldn’t be seen,” Hastings said.

The most common type of marine bioluminescence is generated by phytoplankton known as dinoflagellates. A recent study co-authored by Hastings has for the first time identified a special channel in the dinoflagellate cell membrane that responds to electrical signals—offering a potential mechanism for how the animals create their unique illumination.

—Ker Than

(via scinerds)

carlconnor:

Images taken from an electron microscope

1. A wood or heathland ant, formica fusca, holding a microchip
2. The surface of a silicon microchip
3. Eyelash hairs growing from the surface of human skin
4. The surface of a strawberry
5. Bacteria on the surface of a human tongue

More…

This isn’t entirely about microbiology but I love microphotography so deal with it.

(via scinerds)

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